Cantine Valpane 'Rosso Pietro' Barbera del Monferrato DOC

Cantine Valpane is a small, historic family winery located due east of Turin in the Monferrato, focused on traditional Piemontese grapes that too often fly under the radar internationally, like Freisa, Grignolino, and Barbera. Pietro Giuseppe Arditi began working the estate in 1900 under a sharecropping agreement, purchased it outright in 1902, and the estate has stayed in the family ever since. Today it's run by his descendant, also named Pietro Arditi, and this cuvée is named in a nod to his red-haired, red-bearded grandfather, the original Pietro. Made from 100% Barbera farmed in the Monferrato's warm, sun-drenched amphitheater-shaped vineyards, planted since the 1700s, this bottling reflects a fundamentally different style than the bigger, richer, more tannic Barbera typically found in Asti or Alba. Monferrato Barbera tends toward more refined aromatics and a lighter body, and Rosso Pietro is a great expression of that house style: soaring, expressive aromatics of black cherry, blackcurrant, dried herbs, and earth, with a bitter dusting of dark cocoa on some vintages. On the palate, expect Barbera's signature deep ruby color, low tannin, and bracing acidity, carried here with real refinement and pure drinking pleasure rather than power.